Chapter 43: Brave Dog Fears No Hardship¹

“Starting this afternoon, you’ll begin training according to the subjects you registered for. Here’s the group list. When I call your name, step forward. First up, the pursuit dog division: Dezi, Shan Dian…”

Zhang Meng held a sheet of paper and began calling names. As each name was called, the trainees stepped forward and lined up with their group. In the days to come, they would train together, honing the unique strengths of their police dogs so they could shine in their future roles.

As he listened to the familiar names being called one by one, Aofeng lay sprawled on the ground, lazily flicking his tail, clearly uninterested. After all, he was the only one who had signed up for the Criminal Investigation Dog division. No matter how long he waited, there wouldn’t be another dog placed in his group.

And that was exactly how it turned out. Once the other groups were sorted, Zhang Meng turned to Song Changfeng, who had been waiting off to the side, and said, “You and Aofeng should go train on your own for now. I checked in with the Breeding Base, and it’ll be at least two more months before they send over any puppies.”

“Got it,” Song Changfeng nodded.

Zhang Meng was about to leave when Song Changfeng quickly spoke up. “Instructor Zhang, wait a second. I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, I went over to the equipment storage yesterday and noticed that most of the gear we have is tailored to the other divisions. There doesn’t seem to be any specialized equipment for Criminal Investigation Dogs…” Song Changfeng’s point was clear: if the equipment wasn’t available, it needed to be purchased. Their base hadn’t trained a Criminal Investigation Dog in years, so naturally the gear was lacking. The same was true for other bases too. The last one they had trained was three years ago. In that amount of time, everything needed updates, including training equipment.

Zhang Meng understood what he was getting at. His expression turned a bit complicated, and after a moment, he sighed and patted Song Changfeng on the shoulder. “Changfeng, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You know I manage the equipment storage, but when it comes to purchasing new gear, you’ll have to talk to Director Li.”

With that, he walked off. Once he was gone, Song Changfeng clipped the leash onto Aofeng and headed toward Director Li’s office.

It was lunchtime, and Director Li was sitting in his office wearing reading glasses, watching short videos with great interest. Ever since their base launched its own short video platform, he’d become quite fond of them. But since he only followed official accounts from various departments, every video was full of positive energy. As he watched, he couldn’t help but feel stirred, reminiscing about his own glory days, which left him a bit sentimental.

By the time Song Changfeng reached the door, Director Li had just snapped out of his reverie. Maybe the memories had been too vivid, because he looked a little lost.

“Changfeng, what brings you here?” Director Li’s tone was always calm and unhurried, and to Aofeng’s ears, it sounded like classic bureaucratic speak.

Song Changfeng repeated what he had just told Zhang Meng, and when he finished, he looked at Director Li with hopeful eyes, full of anticipation.

Director Li avoided his gaze, lowered his head, gave a light cough, and picked up his thermos. He unscrewed the lid and blew on it as if it were too hot to drink, saying nothing. In truth, he was stalling for time to come up with a solution.

Lately, the base had been facing a tight budget, and Director Li had been worrying about it constantly. These young folks didn’t understand how expensive everything was. Setting aside the daily cost of food alone, just a few days ago they had brought in professional evaluation instructors from other bases. Even if they didn’t pay them a service fee, they still had to cover travel, lodging, and meals. With over a dozen people, the expenses added up fast.

On top of that, their official account wasn’t allowed to generate revenue. So even with hundreds of thousands of followers, it didn’t help financially. In fact, Director Li had spent quite a bit of his own money on things like new computers and professional filming equipment. All those little purchases added up to a sizable amount.

In short, until the next round of funding came through, Director Li was pinching every penny. Buying a whole new set of training equipment just for Aofeng clearly wasn’t in his plans.

But outright rejecting the request didn’t feel right either. Song Changfeng was known for being diligent and dependable. Once given a task, he followed through without complaint and rarely asked for anything. Now that he was standing here making a request, Director Li found it hard to say no.

Maybe he’d stayed silent too long, because Song Changfeng started to catch on. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Director, is there something wrong with the request?”

“Ah! No, no,” Director Li snapped back to attention. “I was just thinking about something else. Changfeng, you’re saying you want to buy some new equipment for Aofeng’s training, right?”

Song Changfeng found the question a bit odd, since he’d just explained that, but he nodded anyway.

“I seem to recall we still have some equipment in storage that’s suitable for Criminal Investigation Dog training. Why don’t you ask Zhang Meng for the key, go take a look, and make an inventory? Then we can figure out what’s missing and fill in the gaps as needed,” Director Li suggested.

Song Changfeng frowned slightly, looking a bit troubled. “But Director, I’ve already checked. Most of the equipment is outdated and doesn’t meet the current national standards for dog training. Very little of it is usable. I really think it would be more efficient to buy a new set.”

“That’s a fair point. How about this: make a list of the items you need most urgently, and we’ll buy them one at a time. That way, training won’t be delayed too much,” Director Li offered another solution. It would still cost money, but at least it would spread the expenses out and avoid draining the budget all at once.

“Director, Aofeng is progressing quickly. Buying the equipment piece by piece will slow him down. Also, retail prices are definitely higher than wholesale. Buying a full set would save a lot more in the long run,” Song Changfeng said. Training required consistency. They couldn’t afford to start and stop every few days.

He had already said this much, and Director Li couldn’t argue back. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and agree, his phone suddenly rang.

He picked up the call and listened for a moment, his expression growing a bit serious as he gave a few instructions before hanging up.

The call was from the epidemic prevention station. They said the vaccines Director Li had been trying to reserve for the adult dogs at the base were finally available. Because they were difficult to store, they reminded him to send someone over as soon as possible to complete the handover so the vaccinations could begin without delay.

These vaccines were highly effective in preventing various canine diseases. Due to limited production, all the bases were scrambling to reserve them, which made them quite expensive. Still, this was a necessary expense that couldn’t be avoided.

“Changfeng, I’ll be honest with you. Our base is facing some financial strain right now. The equipment you mentioned just isn’t going to be fully purchased before the next round of funding arrives,” Director Li admitted.

Song Changfeng had already suspected as much. Director Li was usually decisive in both speech and action, and it was rare for him to hem and haw like he had today. Still, hearing it confirmed stung a little.

Sensing Song Changfeng’s disappointment, Aofeng walked over and rubbed against him in comfort. Song Changfeng patted its head and forced a smile, though his eyes were clouded with worry.

Was he really going to have to train with that old, outdated equipment?

Aofeng nudged his hand again. Looking into its eyes, Song Changfeng felt as if it were saying, “It’s okay. We can train with anything. Brave dogs aren’t afraid of hardship!”

Translator’s Notes